Filoli Gardens Doors

On a whim last week, I took a drive to Filoli Gardens in Woodside, California to see their early spring blooms and practice taking landscape photos. I was also hoping to find a few interesting doors, as it’s been a while since I’ve participated in Norm Frampton’s weekly feature, Thursday Doors. The day was overcast, a good thing when taking photos in the middle of the day.

Alas, the blooms were scarce but for a few tulip gardens, my exposures and focus were off, and there were many visitors making it difficult to get people-free pictures. Whine, whine, whine. LOL. But, I did get a few door photos that I took creative liberty with in enhancing the less-than-wonderful original exposures. For better or worse, here a few of Filoli’s lovely doors.

About Filoli:

Hidden in the foothills of Woodside, California, Filoli Gardens was created as a grand country estate for the wealthy Bourn family in the early 1900s. The name “Filoli” comes from the first two letters of “FIght- LOve-LIve.” Bourn’s credo was “To fight for a just cause; to love your fellow man; to live a good life.” These are worthy words to live by.

The estate features a 20th-century Georgian mansion, 16 acres of remarkable formal gardens, a Café and Gift Shop, and docent-led hikes through the estate’s nature preserve. Filoli is a not-for-profit organization that is open to the public thanks to approximately 1,200 volunteers and financial support obtained through fundraising, grants, and donations.

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33 thoughts on “Filoli Gardens Doors”

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Nice post, I wonder if our paths crossed; I was there with other photographers on the 17th and it was my first tour of the mansion. It was a nice day, even with the crowds but that’s how you practice patience.

Thank you, Gordon. It’s nice to meet another blogger from the SF Bay Area. So amazing that we both were at Filoli last week and both of us posted doors on Thursday. I went to Filoli on Tuesday the 19th. I arrived just when a group of young school children were leaving. Phew. I was surprised at how busy the place was for a Tuesday! Agree, when faced with a crowd in the gardens, practicing patience is a good thing. 🙂
Donna

The farm is close to Scott’s Valley. Rhododendrons and azaleas had been the major crops since the 1970s, but camellias are becoming as important. For many years, bloom was just a by-product of what we did, and no one else was there to see it. In the 1990s, we starting hosting Open House events so that the public could see how spectacular it is. The arboretum where the stock plants grow is as impressive as any public garden, and is out in the redwood forests of the Santa Cruz Mountains.